Face mask



Jab. 26, 1954 E. E. WOOD ET AL FACE MASK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept.12, 1952 IN V EN TOR. Edwin E. Wood FACE MASK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledSept. 12, 1952 F'IE'. E

INVENTOR. Edwin E. Wood BY William A. Ila/fer! Patented Jan. 26, 1954FACE MASK Edwin E. Wood, Malden, and William A. Haflerty, Charlestown,Mass.

Application September 12, 1952, Serial N 0. 309,202

6 Claims.

The present invention is an improvement in face masks, more particularlyface masks for cold weather, and relates to the same subject matterwhich is described, disclosed and claimed in our copending applicationSerial No. 277,030, filed March 17, 1952.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a face mask oftransparent plastic material which will not quite be on the inside andwhich will also serve as a means for protecting the face againsttemperatures encountered in cold weather.

Another purpose of the face mask is to permit normal breathing throughthe mask under comfortable conditions so that the air is to a greatdegree conditioned before it is inhaled by the user.

An additional purpose of the present invention is to provide a maskwhich is strong, durable, easily worn and which can be used out-doors inextreme northern latitudes and which will permit substantially normalaction of the individual wearing it under very severe weatherconditions.

Other advantages and improvements of the present invention will be morereadily understood from the description given below in the specificationwhen taken in connection with the drawings showing an embodimentthereof, in which:

Figure 1 shows an elevation of the face mask looking at the inside ofthe mask.

Figure 2 shows an elevation of the face mask looking at the outside ofthe mask that is opposite to the side shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, and,

Figure 4 is a side elevation of Figure 2 as viewed from the right sideof Figure 2.

The mask shown in the embodiment comprises a transparent outer wall Iand a substantially parallel transparent inner wall 2 which curve aroundin substantial parallel relationship to form the front sides of the maskcorresponding to the face of an individual. These two parallel walls land 2 are separated by a substantially rigid plastic rim or flange 3which extends all around the periphery of the walls I and 2 and whichwith the walls I and 2 form a hermetically sealed chamber around thewhole shell of the face mask. The flange 3 may be made of any othersuitable material, such as fiber wood or composition material. The spacein the chamber between the walls l and 2 is preferably exhausted bymeans of a valve 4 of the usual construction Well known in the art inthe outer face of the mask. The air does not have to be completelyexhausted but a reduction in pressure to a few millimeters is desirable.The walls I and 2 are stifi enough and the separator 3 is sufficientlystrong so that under no condition is the chamber in the mask collapsed.This is in part due to the fact that the faces of the chamber are curvedsuch that the pressure against the surface is in different directionsover diiferent parts of the surface.

The plastic shelves formed by the sheets or plates i and 2 substantiallyfit around the face of the individual and extend just below the chin ofthe individual. On the inner side of this face there is a ring 4' aplastic material. This ring it will be noted from the figures extendssubstantially around the periphery of the mask from one side of thecannister 5 to the other side of the cannister to a place adjacent theouter edge of the breathing chamber 6 for the inhalation of air by theindividual when the mask is in position.

As will be seen more particularly from Figure 3 bordering the ring 4 isa sealing ring 1 which is aflixed by cement or otherwise to the face ofthe ring 4' and which also extends completely around the edge of themask from the outside of the chamber '5 on one side of the outside ofthe chamber on the other side. In fact this sealing ring 7 which is ofsoft rubber extends to the sides of another ring 8 which is the sealingring for the chamber 6. This ring 8 goes slightly under the chin aroundthe mouth and over the nose approximately at the bridge of the noseforming a sealing element for the chamber 8 so that all the air which isbreathed by the individual into the mask will be breathed through theconnister 5. Air enters the chamber formed with the face as one side andthe inner wall 2 of the mask as the other side through a series of holes9 passing through the flange or section 4| around the edge of the mask.These holes are substantially uniformly spaced around the whole mask sothat the air enters through them substantially uniformly into the innerchamber formed between the face of the inner wall and the mask. Howeverthese holes are sufi'iciently small so that there is very littlemovement of air in the chamber against the face in and out of the maskand this permits the air in this chamber to attain a comfortabletemperature which the face can endure even through the air outside themask may be very low. It has been found that the temperature inside themask is bearable even though the temperature outside the mask may dropas low as F. or F. below zero.

The cannister 5 may also be made of plastic of material which may alsobe bottom of the cannister material and comprises a front face H] whichpreferably is not perforated and a, rear face H which is perforated asindicated by the holes l2, Figure 1. This cannister may be formed as anintegral element or may be built up with the face It], the rear face IIand the end plates l3 and M as individual elements formed together. Thecannister is joined to the mask at the bottom just below or in theregion of thechin and av sealing ring 8 of soft rubber or other suitablematerial similar to the or attached to the face of the cannister asshown at l5 and around at the sides of the cannister as indicated moreclearly in Figure 1.

It will also be noted in the construction in the.

figures that the wall ID of the cannister continues upward in thesection It within the mask and forms a partial frame against which thering 8 rests, except across the top where a section of the wall I6 iscut out to permit the ring 8 to lie over the bridge of the nose,effecting a complete sealfor the nose and mouth by means of the ring ,8.Air which goes up through the cannister therefore only comes to the noseand mouth of the wearer and does not enter into the chamber between theface and the inside wall of the mask. This prevents moisture which is inthe breath from comin into the face chamber. Air entering into thecannister enters partly through the perforations l2 and also through theend piece I! which maybe detachable from the by being snapped over abead at the end of the cannister as indicated at 48 so that the lowerend of the cannister may be removed for replacement of another piece.

' The piece i1 is a baffle with a bafile plate 19 just above the opening28in the piece. Air will be drawn in through the opening 20 around thebaffle and up through the holes 21 in the baffle plate 22. The sectionof the baflle above the bafile plate 22 may be filled with glass wool orother material to govern the rate of flow with which the air is drawninto the mask when used by an individual.

The mask may be attached to the face by a series of straps 23 and 24which may have their ends secured to places in the hard ring or flange4' by means of a series of clips 25 which may be provided with slotsthrough whichthe straps attach.

It will be noted from theabove description that the whole chamber whichextends around the nose and the mouth is not completely enclosed by thewall of the face mask. The yielding, soft, non-deformable sealingmembers I and 8 are therefore substantially on the same level where theyjoin one another, and the lower portion of the sealing member 8 as willbe noted from Figures 1, 3 and 4, extends considerably below theperiphery of the face mask. Air which enters into the chamber 6 in theregion of the nose and mouth is not only substantially warmed by thesurrounding chamber adjacent the face, but also is closed on the outwardside so that the air is to some extent retarded since it is drawnupwards through the mask away from any regions where strong blasts ofcold air could blow through the lower conduit or cannister.

The warm air which is exhaled from the individual, diffuses with thecold air coming upwards through the bottom, and while it might firstseem that the carbon-dioxide from the breath might not be carried away,nevertheless it is, through diffusion and because carbondioxideisheavier than air, it gradually is carried off from the lower sealingring I is sealed.

4 end of the cannister and permits normal breathing of the individual ofcomfortable conditioned air.

Having now described our invention, we claim:

1. A face mask comprising a transparent plastic continuous wall formedto extend around the front and side of the face of an individual from aposition in the normal region of the forehead in front of the ears andaround the chin covering substantially the whole face of the individual,said wall being formed of two parallel spaced plastic sheet elementswith a sealing flange around the periphery of the elements, a secondflange elementlying against the periphery of said wall inwardly thereofin the direction of the individuals face, said second flange being ofsubstantially hard material and having a series of spaced holesextending through the material of the flange adjacent the insideperiphery of the wall, a third flange member of soft yieldingnonperinanently deformable material applied around the periphery of saidsecond flange acting as a seal for the mask against the face, meansforming a separate chamber at the lower end of the mask for the nose andmouth, said means comprising a second wall element having portionsjoined to said first wall in the lower sections thereof and a portionextendin continuously in front of and at the sides of the nose andmouth, a nose and mouth sealing flange of soft yielding non-permanentlydeformable material applied continuously around the edge of the secondwall in the portion which extendsaround the nose and mouth, the meansforming said separate chamber having a. downwardly extending air conduithaving opening in the direction towards the body of the individual whenthe maskis in place and means for, attaching the mask to the head of theindividual.

2. An arrangement as set forth in claim 1, in which there is a partialvacuum between the two parallel spaced sheet sections forming the wallof the mask.

3. An arrangement as set forth in claim 1 in which the meansrforming aseparate chamber having a downwardly extending air conduit has anopening at the end of the conduit with a baffie element across the same.

4. An arrangement as set forth in claim 1 in which the means forming aseparate chamber having a downwardly extending air conduit terminates inan open end and means removably attachable to such end providing aseries of battles for the circulation cfair into and out of saidchamber.

5. An arrangement asset forth in claim 1, in which said means forminga-separate chamber for the nose and month has a section extendingoutside of the wall of'the face mask.

6.. Aface mask comprising a transparent plastic continuous wall formedto extend around the front and side of the face of an: individual from aposition in the normal region of the forehead in front of the ears andaround the chin, covering substantially the whole face' of theindividua1,' said wall bei g formed of two parallel spaced plastic sheetelements with a sealing flange around the periphery of the elements, asecond flange element lying against the periphery of said wall inwardlythereof'in the direction of the individuals face, said second flangebeing of substantially h'ard'material and having a series of spacedholes extending through the materialof the flange'adjacent the insideperiphery of the wall;'a thirdflange'member 'of'soft' yield- 5 ing,non-permanently deformable material apwhereby said mask and separatechamber are plied around the periphery of said second flange sealed offeffectively from one another. acting as a seal for the mask against theface, EDWIN E. WOOD. means forming a separate chamber at the lowerWILLIAM A. HAFFERTY. end of the mask for the nose and mouth, having 5 asealing ring around the periphery of the References Cited in the file ofthis patent ChfLIllbBI adapted fit around the HOSE and UNITED STATESPATENTS mouth of the individual sealing the chamber from the rest of themask, and an air conduit Number m Date directly connected to saidseparate chamber only 10 2381568 Booharm 1945 2,619,644 Christensen Dec.2, 1952

